Confederate Heroes
by Derek Metaltron
Summary: Call them heroes or monsters - it's all really a matter of perspective. A 'Fifty One Sentence Challenge' fic focusing on CIS Warriors Count Dooku and General Greivous, inspired by similar fics.


_OCC: This one has been a long time in the works, and actually got erased from my computer on one occasion and since then I hadn't the time to write it out... til now. I wanted a try at this 'write fifty sentences each with a different word as the theme and use a certain character' thing, so since Palpatine and Obi-Wan have been done before I figured I'd tackle two of my favourite characters in the Prequel Trilogy. I'd like to thank writers skywalker05 and Mathematica for the original theme set used here. Hope you enjoy and look out for more SW One-Shots from me in the future! :)_

_AN: As I'm using two characters I added letters to indicate the character concerned, switching on each new sentence to ensure both Dooku and Greivous got an equal share. As you might guess, ones with (G) are Greivous and (D) with Dooku, so that's there to avoid confusion._

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_**Confederate Heroes (Grievous/Dooku)**_

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_I. Walking (G)_

Every extra stride he has to take; lightsabers raised, his face front forward, the heat of the sun or pounding rain or falling snow on his exoskeleton; all of it only serves to make the eventual twist of the blade and the faintest sniff of blood on his nasal receptors that more stimulating.

_II. Waltz (D)_

He believes in the art of position and posture when in combat – _your body master, your foe mastered will be_ – and when the time comes he knows not to disappoint his former master so.

_III. Wishes (G)_

The thought of the Jedi Temple burning, the strongest of their clan choking their last in his iron grip as he leads a thousand strong men of metal into the heart of the weak, corrupted Republic.

_IV. Wonder (D)_

He has prepared every fibre of his self and posture to seem unreadable and unmoved, and yet he cannot remove the expression on his face as he gazes upon the phantom limbs he no longer owns.

_V. Worry (G)_

He knows that fear is something his mind need not comprehend with any longer, yet he still feels the merest hint of it when he is thrust into murky waters on a failed assault, thoughts of drowning once more touching his augmented mind.

_VI. Whimsy (D)_

It can be quaint to consider at times the might-have beens; if Kenobi had listened to his advice, if Amadala had understood the argument better, if Fett had been of a swifter stride – but he was the one who told Jinn to focus on the here and now, and he will ignore them.

_VII. Wasteland (G)_

Trudging through the dirt and grime, his robes tattered, having to scramble over cliff faces and gorges: all will be worth it if he might have the head of Skywalker's student in his bloodied fist.

_VIII. Whiskey and Rum (D)_

As a Count he may pursue all of the finest in wines and tastes, but he vows never to raise a toast amongst his allies for success; not until his cellars of such vintage reside in the Republic matured and broken heart.

_IX. War (G)_

He was birthed to war against the Huk alongside his Kaleesh brothers, and he hopes that his death will be the final part of a glorious final victory against the Republic and its loathsome Jedi clan.

_X. Weddings (D)_

He dimly recalls flicking through holos of his parent's engagement as a child and wondering if he will witness the same in his lifetime; as a Sith he thinks of Ventress that way just once, and meditates in the thrall of the Dark Side for days afterward to be rid of such foolishness.

_XI. Birthday (G)_

He cannot recall the date he exited from his mother's organic womb, so each year of the war he elects to recall the time of his second birth by twisting a Jedi's head from his frail neck.

_XII. Blessing (D)_

For it is good fortune that a simple Geonosian Technician should install a power column in just the right position for himself to use it in the battle against his former master and give him the chance to escape, as if the Dark Side allows him the opportunity to become ready for a more even encounter.

_XIII. Bias (G)_

He loathes the corrupted propaganda during the wars – _the Huk are our loyal allies, the Droids bring disorder to the galaxy_ – and often he will order the information centres burnt to the ground.

_XIV. Burning (D)_

There is just enough connection on the newly claimed Mustafar to sense that Skywalker will have a role to play amid its ash and lava, yet not enough to know he and his army will have no part in it.

_XV. Breathing (G)_

From the moment Windu's saber strikes his chest plate to seeing Kenobi clutch the blaster in his hand on Utapau, every breath he takes is a straining pain, to give oxygen to what little organic matter remains, fuelled in part by rage and anger and the fear of death without glory.

_XVI. Breaking (D)_

Moulding such a fine weapon as Ventress for the service of his cause takes time and patience in the shadows of the Dark Side, for he trusts that when complete she will easily become the ultimate bane of General Kenobi and his foolhardy understudy.

_XVII. Belief (G)_

He never forgets the Holy Man who sent him to war against the Huk in his youth, and to touch the faded paint on his battle mask is to feel the strength and determination of his people.

_XVIII. Balloon (D)_

_Droid Fighters can be unfortunately unreliable_, he reckons as in the heat of battle he sees one plummet into the depths of this world's forest by a lucky shot to the pilot's head; his strings cut.

_XIX. Balcony (G)_

Viewing the battle from a far watchtower is Gunray or Dooku's game; like Ventress he prefers to be out amongst the throngs of war, sabers ready to taste white armour and Padawan blood.

_XX. Bane (D)_

As a Student of the Force he felt he understood the requirement for the first true Sith to desire only two within the grip of the Dark Side, but it is only at the last moment that he wishes he might have pursued the philosophy more subtly than those mere hints at Kenobi and Ventress.

_XXI. Quiet (G)_

There is always such silence after battle, victory or defeat, and whether his droid army are hoisting the colours or taking to the skies, the lack of warfare can so disappoint his military mind.

_XXII. Quirks (D)_

The smell of the Sereno Ocean in his nose, the grandeur of the Jedi Council chamber, the curved design on his saber hilt; he admires calmed ordered symmetry, and Sidious and the Confederacy will do the same to the Galaxy.

_XXIII. Question (G)_

There are times he wonders about the night he was torn to shreds, about how involved the Jedi might have been, but he tends to find that routes of investigation are too time consuming, and Dooku always has more important matters for his droid scientists to check.

_XXIV. Quarrel (D)_

_Fear attracts the Fearful_, so_ use fear to your advantage Tyranus_ his master always tells him, and so it pleases him that in the nervous and oft divided council, his word is always final.

_XXV. Quitting (G)_

Sounds of the battle just beyond the airlock let's him know that he has lost the battle, he has not lost the war, not _just _yet – plans delayed, never defeated.

_XXVI. Jump (D)_

Seeing Skywalker and Kenobi alongside the Chancellor as he reaches the upper balcony, coupled with dark thoughts on how easy and enjoyable it will be to be rid of their irritation for his secret Master, is more than enough reason to leap nimbly onto the field of battle.

_XXVII. Jester (G)_

Because not everyone respects him, because his appearance can be enough to make them fear and mock him in equal measure, he opts to act the fool, to mock the beautiful – until it is far, far too late for them to apologise and beg for their miserable organically derived lives.

_XXVIII. Jousting (D)_

Every battle is a chance to improve on what has come before, every twist and turn a warrior's code, each conflict an extension of the merging of his nobility and trust in the Dark Side's power.

_XXIX. Jewel (G)_

His hands were once unimportant: merely the means to an end - but it is only now that he has four to control the thrust of the blade does he realize how powerful his transformation makes him become.

_XXX. Just (D)_

There is no lie in his eyes as he speaks to the captive Kenobi – Qui-Gon would have seen his way, would have understood the path away from the weak Republic, would have stood by his side, and so it is so very disappointing that the Apprentice did not learn the same lesson.

XXXI. _Smirk (G)_

To smile is painful for the tattered face muscles and foolish as his lips are masked by those metal slits which broadcast his orders, yet he still cannot halt himself to smirk on those slimly few days when everything is going according to plan.

_XXXII. Sorrow (D)_

He does not complain or cry; not as a Jedi, not as a noble, not as a Sith, not as a Count.

_XXXIII. Stupidity (G)_

Gunray is like a week Kaleesh child who wails at his toys if they walk and don't run, and he will forever wonder how such an irritating coward became a leader of the gleaming droids he feels most at ease with.

_XXXIV. Serenade (D)_

Serennian music can move him if it hits the right note; the remembrance parades of the old nobles, the determination in its verses to keep strong and proud of its past and future; Serenno music and philosophy shall be his guide to forging a new order for this universe.

_XXXV. Sarcasm (G)_

"Be thankful, Viceroy, you have not found yourself (_cold dead at my feet_) in _my_ grip."

_XXXVI. Sordid (D)_

As a Count and in private, he finds himself uncomfortable being so oft surrounded by lowlife carrion who see his cause as the lesser of two evils in their own petty aims, but they each serve their own purpose in the battles to come.

_XXXVII. Soliloquy (G)_

When he speaks, it is with the assurance that he _will_ be obeyed, coupled with the amusement as he adjusts to the altered pitch and malice in his throat and he sees organic and droid alike squirm and twitch uncomfortably.

_XXXVIII. Sojourn (D)_

Geonosis serves its purpose as a staging ground, its people as the first converts, its factories for the initial production line of warriors, but he knows it will be the first of many, and it may be afforded to become lost to the future enemy.

_XXXIX. Share (G)_

He never likes to battle alongside Ventress - they fight for position and power too closely, and he knows her frail links to the cursed Force make her Dooku's chosen pupil, a prize he suspects he will one day have to crush if his Droid Armies emerge triumphant.

_XL. Solitary (D)_

He is surrounded everywhere by advisors, minions and warriors, and yet he does not feel warmth or love for them as their leader in cause, and so he is alone save for the whispers and warnings of the Dark Side.

_XLI. Nowhere (G)_

Some planets seem so worthless, their miserable species not worth Dooku bringing into his cause, but he still sees the value in controlling the worlds of the weak and easily controlled.

_XLII. Neutral (D)_

What pleases him greatly is how Sidious has engineered a war where there can almost truly be no third party, only two great armies battling for supremacy, light and dark, clone and machine.

_XLIII. Nuance (G)_

What borders him between organic and droid is pure vengeance against those who have wronged him, and so he will destroy any being who thinks him otherwise.

_XLIV. Near (D)_

How he wishes he could tell Kenobi the complete truth; about how perfect his master's plans in the forthcoming war will be, and if knowledge of such a hopeless resistance would push the Jedi closer into his loyal flock.

_XLV. Natural (G)_

And perhaps for a fraction of a second within a quiet moment, he might consider what it would be like to be completely organic, wholly Kaleesh; more man than machine.

_XLVI. Horizon (D)_

From life to death he thinks of forever extending his reach to the most difficult position, the higher cliff face, even if he must eventually abandon his fellow's urgings of learning to control one's ambition and lust for power.

_XLVII. Valiant (G)_

To some he is a hero, to others a monster; both serves him to make his name spread over the galaxy like wildfire.

_XLVIII. Virtuous (D)_

And though the lips of his master he may amuse himself by the knowledge that the Jedi see him as a_ political idealist, a man of great character_ and he will know that like Sidious, the veil of deceit is exactly where it should be in the eve of war.

_XLIX. Victory (G)_

The Jedi Knights lie limp before him, weak and crippled as he makes himself known to them on Hyperoi, thinking that all those tiresome months of waiting were simply worth this single moment of utter carnage.

_L. Defeat (D)_

It is only now, his hands severed and his life in the hand of a supposed infant puppeted by the Master of Deception, that he sees he will be the first act of the Chosen One's fall from grace into the arms of his waiting deceiver.


End file.
